My dog is perfectly fine inside for hours at a time when I"m away, but when I'm home, there are occasional accidents. What's the deal with that?
Is it a dominance thing? We do have two dogs.
She's just been to the vet so it isn't a medical issue.
So frustrating!
I've had this issue intermittently with both of my dogs. Neither one has a clear 'tell' to let me know they need to go to the bathroom, so it's very much on me to take them out regularly. Of course, it's hard to always keep track of who's been drinking more water, and occasionally there are mix ups in communication between my partner and myself about when they last went out, and sometimes you just have to go more frequently than normal, so accidents happen.
My guess is that it's a combination of things. Your dogs know when you aren't around they can't ask you go to out, so they hold it. But if you're home and they give you a signal, they may be thinking "oh well, I told her I had to go..." if you don't immediately respond. Access to water is potentially a big factor, as is confinement. If your dogs are kenneled or confined to a smaller space while you're away, they may be less likely to go close to where they have to rest.
We also have a dog that hates inclement weather (rain, cold, wind...) and will stand there and not go potty forever and a day, but then go within minutes of coming back inside when she's nice and warm again... I've gone through so many doormats.
I'm having this same issue with our Dachshund. We recently discovered (with a blacklight urine detector) that she's been peeing inside - a LOT. We started putting a diaper on her when she is inside, and so far it has been a great help. She has only peed in the diaper twice. Once was right after I left for work but before my partner got up. The second time was when I was gone for an hour and a half and took my rover dog but not her. I am starting to believe it's a behavioral issue, kind of like retaliation of some sort.
She is 10 years old, has lived with us for a year and a half and has spent the rest of her prior life living outside making potty training even more challenging.
Interesting! And sorry to hear about diapering. :/ I also realized that when we're home, there's more access to the water bowl than when we're gone - I wonder if it's simply quantity of drinking?
Yes, he was ticked off and likely because there was a new dog (Rover) in his home. Can you take them out together? Try taking him out more with treats. Maybe he needs are refresher potty training for a few weeks. I know how hard it is with cats and dogs. I have had the same type issues.
I used to have a similar issue with my dog Binky. Her situation was a bit different though, so I'll explain:
Binky can hold her blatter for very long periods of time, and when I was very sick a little less than a year ago - she held it for over 24 hours because I couldn't even get out of the bed. Which made me feel very bad, but I was also very proud of her for holding so long. She also has typically 2 BM a day, one very large one in the morning, and perhaps another decent sized one in the late afternoon/evening (her favorite treat is pureed pumpkin, and she gets a tablespoon with every meal to keep her regular and of course she LOVES it, but it causes her to go poop more often).
Binky could probably stay home for days (haven't actually tested this, and won't) and not have an accident as long as I have her use the restroom prior to me leaving her, BUT that is only if she's blocked off from going upstairs, or if she's in my room with the door closed. If I allow her access to the rest of the upstairs - she has a spot. A favorite spot that if she hasn't had her AM pee and poop (which happens rarely when I'm very busy, and have to rush out of the house. We all have those days), she will go to this spot ONLY and pee and poop. Now if she's downstairs with the stairs blocked off, or in a bedroom with the door closed, she's fine! Even if she hasn't gone to the restroom, she will hold it until I come back. BUT if she can get to the loft, she will go to the bathroom. This is the ONLY area in our entire 3500 square foot house that she has ever used the bathroom in. I find it very VERY odd. There's just something about that room...that she associates with being a bathroom?
My theory is: in her mind, the loft is the least important room in the entire house. She sees the loft as irrelevant, and will probably not get in as much trouble if she were to go to the bathroom there versus any other room in the house. She knows are bedrooms are important to us, because that's where we sleep - and a dog will NOT go where they sleep. (Look up the mindset of an outdoor dog, an outdoor dog will ALWAYS use the restroom on the opposite side of the yard that they eat and sleep in. They will poop as far away from the dining and sleeping quarters as they possibly can - the same is said for wild dogs) The kitchen and dining rooms are where we all eat, and food is made = important. Living room is where we gather to spend time together = important. Bathrooms ...
Breaking behavior like this can be slow and require a lot of patience. You can try approaching it by restricting the dog to certain areas when you're home. I kept my dog on a leash for a few weeks during her puppy training when she almost had housetraining figured out but was still having issues. She was stuck with me in the same rooms so I could watch her. You can also try a better signal/tell for when your dog has to go outside and reward that. I use a bell on the door knob my dog can nose to tell me when she has to go out and used to watch and reward her with treats when she went.
Is the second dog new to your family? Start taking him out more often or start potty training over again...If the dog was 100% potty trained then something is upsetting the dog. I have a small dog and I take her out often and she has potty pads when I am at work if needed.